Everyone close to Fengxi Palace knew the location and entrance of the secret chamber, and Emperor Shunwu only needed to ask to find out.
As expected, after Fengxi Palace's consort told him this, Emperor Shunwu directly ordered that she be sent to the imperial prison.
He then looked towards the palace maids of Fengxi Palace, who were already scared out of their wits.
Although he did not know the location of the secret chamber, he still remembered which of these palace dogs had ever summoned him to the palace.
At this juncture, those people could no longer care about anything else.
When the consort was being taken away, several of them had already knelt down.
Some were even afraid that if they spoke too slowly, the opportunity to redeem themselves would be taken by others, so they hurriedly revealed the location of the secret chamber and how to enter it.
Without Emperor Shunwu having to order it, as soon as Nan Yu learned of the secret chamber's location, he immediately summoned a few men to rush there.
When the deceased empress dowager's body was brought out, it had already decayed beyond recognition, an unbearable sight.
Emperor Shunwu burst into tears, ordering that the funeral arrangements for the empress dowager be made properly.
Everyone present was shaken upon seeing the dowager's tragic state.
Especially the ministers of the consort's faction, each of them was extremely guilt-ridden.
They dared not even imagine what punishments awaited them, and some had even entertained thoughts of fleeing.
How could Nan Yu possibly give them a chance to escape?
In front of Emperor Shunwu, he calmly commanded that the officials of the consort's faction be arrested.
He understood the principle of not punishing the many, but so many officials had more or less committed acts of rebellion by following the consort's faction. However, immediately punishing them all would amount to a major reshuffle of the court.
A major reshuffle was possible, but only if there were suitable replacements ready to take over their positions.
Emperor Shunwu had always been indifferent towards court affairs, so how could he have cultivated so many capable people to take over important roles?
Therefore, although these officials had erred, they could not be immediately purged for the time being. Nan Yu needed time to train new personnel to take over.
Emperor Shunwu was relieved to see Nan Yu handle these matters with ease.
If only this child had acknowledged his ancestry sooner, perhaps the present situation could have been avoided.
To these ministers, Nan Yu was not an unfamiliar figure.
Many knew that he was an aide to Prince Nan Qi.
What puzzled them was why Prince Nan Qi had been inexplicably thrown into prison, while his aide could act with such ease before the Emperor.
Emperor Shunwu did not care what these ministers thought. After being controlled by the consort for so long, the realm that his ancestors had founded was nearly lost under his rule, which enraged him greatly.
After going through so much, he was utterly exhausted and simply handed all remaining matters to Nan Yu to handle.
Nan Yu obtained this authority in front of all the ministers, so even if anyone doubted him, they dared not say anything.
It must be said that Nan Yu's iron-fisted methods were impressive. From the time the consort's faction was arrested until late at night, he had personally interrogated most of them and had detailed records made, ready to be presented to Emperor Shunwu at the next morning's court session.
It was already late at night when Nan Yu returned to the Fei manor, where Mo Jiuye and He Zhiran had been waiting for him in the study room.
He was naturally aware of the reason they were waiting for him.
"The events today proceeded so smoothly, thanks to the efforts of Lord Mo and Lady He. Allow Nan Yu to express his gratitude with a bow."
Mo Jiuye and He Zhiran gladly accepted this bow, for without the couple's full support, Nan Yu could never have turned the situation around.
Moreover, the incident with the consort's faction may very well change this period of history.
According to historical records, it was only after Nan Qi ascended the throne that Nan Yu successfully usurped the throne, and the events leading up to that point did not involve the consort's faction's actions.
Of course, if not for He Zhiran's arrival, Nan Heng might not have died and would have ultimately lost to Nan Qi instead.
At the same time, judging from the current situation, the timing of Nan Yu's ascension to the throne has also fundamentally changed, or one could even say there is a high possibility that an entire dynasty may be averted.
After all, historical records state that after Nan Yu took over the Da Shun Dynasty, he did not reveal his true identity and instead established a new dynasty.
In any case, this change in history may not necessarily be a bad thing. During Nan Qi's reign of a few years, he was even more incompetent and tyrannical than Emperor Shunwu, causing the people of Da Shun to live in poverty and despair.
Nan Yu, on the other hand, was different from Nan Qi. He was an emperor with grand ambitions and a heart for the people.
In other words, Nan Yu ascending the throne earlier would undoubtedly be a great blessing for the common people.
Regardless of whether history was changed or not, as long as the people suffered less, it would count as a great achievement for them.
They accepted this bow wholeheartedly, but on the surface, some polite modesty was still required.
"Prince Nan Yu need not be so courteous. As subjects of Da Shun, doing these things is only our duty."
Nan Yu had originally intended to reciprocate the polite modesty before recounting the day's events to them. However, upon hearing Mo Jiuye's words "doing these things is only our duty," he immediately changed his plan.
"It seems Lord Mo has not forgotten the common people of Da Shun. Nan Yu hereby requests that you return to court and continue to serve the Da Shun Dynasty."
Mo Jiuye did not expect that his polite remark would lead to Nan Yu's misunderstanding.
Without a moment's hesitation, he refused: "After what my Mo family has been through, I have become completely disillusioned with official positions and wealth. My family and I are living well in the northwest, and I have no desire to be involved with the court in any way."
His tone of refusal was firm, leaving no room for Nan Yu to argue.
Originally, Nan Yu still harbored a glimmer of hope that he could persuade Mo Jiuye to return to court, but now he could confirm that it would be very difficult.
If that was the case, he would not rush it for the time being and instead use sincerity to win him over.
Mo Jiuye was unaware of Nan Yu's thoughts and did not care about the details of the day's events. Without asking, he knew that since Nan Yu came back to pay such great respects to them, everything must have proceeded smoothly under his control.
What he wanted to say now was about avenging the Mo family.
Although Emperor Shunwu's decree to confiscate the Mo family's property and exile them was an infuriating act, out of consideration for Nan Rui and Nan Yu, he could no longer hold it against the Emperor.
Looking at it positively, even if Emperor Shunwu had intended to deal with the Mo family, he ultimately did not act on it.
This was the only reason Mo Jiuye could let Emperor Shunwu off the hook, for Nan Yu and Nan Rui's sakes.
As such, the Mo family's true enemies in the court were now the consort and her clan.
"Prince Nan Yu, you are aware of our purpose for coming to the Capital city. Our only wish now is to personally execute those who harbored ill intentions towards the Mo family."
"That won't be a problem. After I have finished reviewing the cases and reporting them to the Emperor, I will arrange for you to handle it."
Nan Yu sincerely wanted to do something for Mo Jiuye. Without the couple's help, he would have had a hard time turning the situation around in the consort's faction incident.
Moreover, his main goal was still to have Mo Jiuye return to the Capital city and continue serving the court.
